VELUX donates 1000 Natural Light lamps to rural schools in Kenya

In September 2018 VELUX donated 1000 Natural Light solar lamps to schools in rural areas without electricity in Kenya.

When the night falls over the coffee plantations Meru County in Kenya it gets dark. Really dark. Meru County is one of the many off-grid areas in Africa where people live without access to electricity. Living without electricity leads to a high demand for alternative illumination especially in the evening when children have to do their homework or the families have to prepare the dinner. To satisfy this demand, the people of Meru belong to the 40% of the Kenyan population who use kerosene lamps to light up their homes when it gets dark.

Kerosene lamps are often nothing more than a small flame ignited from a canister which makes it difficult and dangerous to share the light when doing household chores and family activities in the evening. The most prevalent danger is the fire hazard from having an open fire inside the household. Furthermore, children doing their homework sit close to the flame to properly illuminate their school books which increases the risk of burn accidents and illnesses from inhaling the toxic fumes.

By using the Natural Light solar lamp families can create a better living environment at home by harnessing the sustainable energy of the sun to light up their houses at night. They can recharge the lamp for free in the sun and share its powerful illumination in the house after dark by hanging the lamp in the ceiling.

"The families in Meru Country live off an average of 1$ to 1.5$ a day which is about the cost of 1 liter of kerosene. This means, that when the family buys kerosene, it will most likely not eat that day. By using the Natural Light instead of kerosene lamps the families save what accumulates to 10.000 Kenyan Shillings a year. That’s enough to send a child to secondary school for a whole year”, explains Martin General Manager, Riziki, Kenya.

In VELUX we believe in “bringing light to life” and it is the company’s DNA to use natural light to create better living environments. Our products designed for this purpose are mainly sold in developed countries due to the high cost of quality. Natural Light is our way offering of an affordable and risk-free source of daylight and fresh air for people in developing countries who can’t usually afford our products. We are deeply humbled when we see positive change the lamp brings for families who can now live more safely indoors, save a lot of money and ensure their children’s schooling.